1.14 Too Much Family Time

Dustin wakes up in a distantly familiar place and initially feels like something is off- did the baby go all night without crying out? Is she okay, it's not good if they don't cry at all- right? What if she has a fever, or- or this is Eugene's place, he realizes belatedly. Instead of feeling silly this makes him want to rush home and check in on her. They shouldn't have left her with a caregiver, licensed or not. She's not even a year old yet!

After breakfast, Dustin finalizes plans with Eugene to coordinate the move and ensures him that the people in Starlight may be a little bit weird, but there are worse things out there in all likelihood. It's true that sometimes the drunken populace of starlets and fledgling artists stumble ineptly through the theater district in a zomboid state like night walkers, but they're harmlessly self-effecting and don't cause anyone other than their parents worry. “Benign youth in an exploitative state.”

“That was an awfully Meghan thing to say.” Eugene comments, amused that Dustin can string so many descriptive words together.

Eugene's most important executive decision is to leave the house in a dismal state for some other poor sim to find. I can see this is going to be something of a trend with this legacy.

Later that week they arrive, leaving fate to sort out the mess they're going to make in this new town.

(Shrieks of terror proceed them I'm sure)

Looks like the babysitter was doing his job, so that's a good thing. He sees the family coming however and breaks off in a hasty retreat, grabbing the cash Dustin holds out as he runs. It's sort of like feeding a bird in flight, Dustin thinks.

Kind of cute how little Jyoti learned to give a thumbs up.

Eugene and his family are invited to stay with Dustin and Meghan for a while, before they have to move into town and get settled.

The boys both have immediate birthdays, true to Meghan's prediction about areas with residual magic and the resulting effects of their travel.

She jots down some notes after screaming celebratorily into the the air through a noisemaker.

Leon is not exactly excited about it, but then again his carefree smile he had so often as a child is somehow absent now. He finally becomes a sulky teen.

Leon gets a makeover. I had no idea how chubby Lize's cheeks were until I tried him in different haircuts and none of them really worked. I like his cheeks so I settle on something that makes them look chubbier (since I can't pinch them directly through the screen).

Typically (and weirdly) oblivious to their children's aging are Eugene and Lize who use the time to spend outside, where there should be less stars, but the view over the hills and into the ocean is spectacular. They don't miss the evening borealis of their long-time home.

Starlight Shores is a whole new exciting page of their lives. Eugene has a few rare days off from work, so even moments like this are hard to come by and precious to the couple. They've been outside on the lawn since the sunset began.

Everet (maker help him) ages up as well, his brother is several years older than he is. Regardless of the fact that both are now teens, they will be in different grades and mingle with different peer groups.

Before giving him a new look I have a compulsion to put Meghan's old hair on him.

But he cleans up real good. Teal is his favorite color, and he now has commitment issues. I think other than that he's easily impressed and excitable? Don't quote me on those last two.

Leon's favorite color is white, he's a virtuoso (and I forget what else)

He calls dibs on the rocking chair for the night.

(Caesar was my favorite JoJo's Bizarre Adventure character, hence the multicolored belt, which has nothing to do with this story...)

After snuggling the baby Meghan gets down to the business of getting her body into after-baby shape.

Dustin joins her, but kind of gets in the way. He can be so oblivious at times!

Everyone gets a chance to reconnect and Dustin and Eugene spend some quality time, but it all passes a little too quickly for Meghan, who today is faced with having to let her baby girl age up to become a toddler. She's incredibly proud but at the same time wishes the surreal feeling of being a new mother could linger. She cherished this time and doesn't want it to end. She's beginning to be honest with herself more and more, and maybe having another one would be a good thing after all. 

Just a passing thought.

She went all out to get a cake her baby can't possibly help them eat, but maybe she can taste some small pieces of the fruits on top.

Leon decides to repair the dishwasher, so people aren't distracted during the party by the irreconcilable smells that are emanating from it's mechanical depths after breaking earlier that day.

Instead of helping he manages to burn himself, and the smell of his charred flesh mixes with the odor of the dishwasher as soupy liquid spills onto the floor.

That's about where Dustin feels the need to step in. He waves to his cousin's kid dismissively. “I've got this.”

"Sorry, Uncle Dustin.” The teen mumbles. He often wonders why he can't do things that other people can do, but he's drawn to music, not working with his hands. Still, it's a clear failing at a big family event and it stings.

Dustin knows the boy is hovering, hoping he didn't do any worse damage. “Seriously it's fine. We all mess up at this stuff in the beginning, so don't worry about it. It's my house so I need to do it anyways. Okay?” Dustin says without glancing up from the machine.

“Yeah...” Leon doesn't sound convinced, the absence of his father who worked so late for most of his young life has clearly affected his confidence. Still he shuffles away without making a bigger deal of things.

Dustin has it fixed on time for the festivities to begin.

Everet is wondering when it'll be considered the right time to slip away and use the restroom?

The mixture of excitement and ...smells near Meghan is bit much for her and she finally admits she's feeling nauseous, she's not sure if she's really in the mood for cake.

Then again she's feels nauseous on just about every day depending on circumstance, so this is probably just another moment of inconvenienced nothing.

The menfolk seem unaware of her distress.

Jyoti (now a toddler), who is nowhere near the genius her mother is, ironically happens to be the only one paying attention, but has no way to tell her mom that things will be alright. She can't even talk yet and most of her experience with the subject lies between a babble and an ear-splitting, migraine inducing scream...

So as soon as the party's over she falls asleep from all the excitement instead of being able to overthink it.

It doesn't take her dad long to resume subjecting his town's nightlife to his many illusions. He's back at the coffee shop that very night, raking in the tips. Baby's gonna need a new set of... everythings.

Lize worries practically about how well Dustin and Meghan are doing on their own. They really don't seem to own much more than a computer and the essentials, and Dustin basically makes a 'living' as a one-man carnival. Meghan works out in the living room to the sounds of the cheapest radio money can buy, and Eugene's wife is convinced that they are just scraping by.

She feels like a surrogate mother to Dustin and Meghan ('their other kids' as she calls them) because she in nurturing, because she watched them grow up, and possibly also because she can hardly believe they're ready for kids of their own.

This topic is so repetitive, Eugene can't help but think that immediate rest is a suitable alternative to his wife's worried tone of voice. He tries not to be too exasperated in his response. “Before when we didn't hear from them, you worried that they were living in cardboard boxes in the park, now that you're seeing the huge house they managed to build, you're worried that it isn't filled with enough useless stuff? They're doing well, Lize.”

She mulls it over. “Maybe...”

To be fair, she has no idea what's lying below the garage. That door remains staunchly locked to everyone who does not need access, which is everyone.

The extended Sparrow family is leaving early in the morning, so they're probably not going to uncover their cousin's secrets any time soon.

Meghan stops working out, suddenly feeling a sense of deja vu. Inside he a familiar feeling stirs and she hopes fervently that there's some cold spaghetti in the fridge with her name on it.

Meghan's growing collection of things to experiment on calls for her, but it may have to wait for the morning.

Meanwhile, Jyoti's awake and grumpy looking. It's clear when her eyes are open that they are Meghan's in every way, though she has Dustin's nose, chin and hair. Not sure where the no-nonsense attitude comes from.

We can imagine that she manages to soil her diaper in the span of time it takes us to read these words. Right. She'll have to learn some self control next.

Before she audibly complains though dad has he scooped up in his arms, his familiar heartbeat echoing in her little ears. A tiny contented sigh escapes her instead of the more obnoxious alternative.

Dustin's first job after coming home late from working is to check on his little girl, as usual.

I mean, COME ON this is too cute. <3

He's got to change her diaper anyways, so what the heck.

10/10 for an unfair tickle fight. Would do again.

Well once again he proves that his priorities are in order.

“Great job, baby.”

Meghan isn't the only one who gets to enjoy cold spaghetti for a late dinner.

Okay it's light outside. Early breakfast then. Jyo seems to be enjoying it.

Once again true to routine Meghan's on an opposite schedule and has just gone to bed after staying up late on her computer.

Dustin and Jyoti eat together.

And even though she's no genius, she once again notices something out of place.

Dad gets to eat something different. It's a bit early in her development for jealousy to form, so she just stares at him while he eats, occasionally gurgling.

Jyoti loves being outside. There's something in the feel of the sun on her skin that she's naturally fond of, which should probably be ironic. Instead, Dustin and Meghan are grateful for this. Their little girl is 'normal', whatever that's supposed to be.

While Meghan sleeps in mostly during the day, Dustin takes it upon himself to familiarize Jyo with everything he can in the time before he has to run out to perform or setup for gigs in the evening.

She's inquisitive and points for him to turn the stroller in directions that can satisfy her curiosity. He resolves to have her learn how to speak soon. This is cute, but probably not helping her in the long term.

Well, reading and writing both.

Meghan is indeed pregnant again, but still barely showing. She gets a few hours of sunlight today too, despite not having taken any medication lately. She's trying to increase her tolerance so she can be a better mother (or at least a better example). Something about the sun is still icky at times and she can't make her revulsion sound more mature than that, even in her own head.

Instead of slowing down, this new baby she's expecting encourages her to pick up the pace on her projects so that once she needs a lot more rest in the third trimester she'll be able to just write up her findings in reports instead of having to stand for long hours or jog all over town for research. It's not a bad plan.

So she spends a lot of her time stocking up on research specimens, but has yet to make a vegetable or fruit more than marginally better. Her forte seems still to be tied into biology.

Meghan has the same look of feigned confidence she wore when she was carrying Jyoti. Even though this is kind of worrying, Dustin thinks she knows they're going to get through it.

“We have an hour before your show right?” She asks. “Let's all spend time outside?”

So that's what the face was about. She was steeling herself to go where her daughter is the happiest and she wasn't. “You sure?” He asks, surprised.

“Don't be a loser. The cool kids are playing outside today.” She shoots back cooly.

Well that was an easy conversation. He follows her outside, talking to the toddler in his arms. “So your momma's decided to be OBSTINATE today. OB STIN ATE.” he sounds out helpfully.

“Ouah!” Jyoti replies.

So they chat for awhile and Dustin catches his wife up on all the cute things their daughter got up to today, and manages to make a mundane walk and Jyoti learning how to read sound interesting.

Really Meghan just wants to know that her child will have a much, much better chance at an education than she did, so the little details are helpful for when she has to take over later tonight.

He asks her to take a photo with him, it's been forever and he wants a new background image on his phone. He's kind of sentimental like that sometimes.

So when she agrees he sets his little girl down to play with some nature somewhere and reaches for his phone.

But manages to press the button at the wrong time, or something.

I had no idea that they could mess up this interaction.

They stumble along for a few seconds in effective blindness. Meghan realizes that technology should have been her fear all along.

I have to see that animation again.

Even if Dustin's embarrassed about it. He promises his wife he knows how to use his equipment better than that.

She knows, she says suggestively. Usually pointless innuendos cheer him right up, but he's a performer, and this was a stupid mistake. So he apologizes again for no reason.

Jyoti hasn't learned anything of value since her parents started watching her together.

Jyoti doesn't know how to emulate this behavior anyways.

XD

“Okay, let's stop...” Dustin gives up first for once.

“Yeah, let's go back inside too.” Meghan adds. “Too much family time I think.”

...

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A nice fluffy update because I have to do some decent writing after this.

So- does Jyoti have a variant hair, or is Dustin's just lighter in places because of the style? I can't decide. I've never noticed that the hair can change (mutate?) with each new child, but people mention it from time to time so I assume it happens.

Lize was actually flirting with Eugene there, talking about clowns, or calling him one? Seems like a back-handed compliment (or as my siblings and I called used to call it, a 'complisult')